In particular, in the case of a defect, during the operation of an internal combustion engine the pressure in the crankcase can suddenly and quickly rise. This can lead, under certain circumstances, to the destruction of the internal combustion engine. It is therefore generally known to monitor the crankcase pressure of the internal combustion engine. This is usually done by means of a sensor with which the pressure which is currently present in the crankcase is determined. The current crankcase pressure is compared with a predefined threshold value in a control of the internal combustion engine. If the current crankcase pressure exceeds the threshold value, a fault is present and the internal combustion engine is shut down. The threshold value is defined, on the one hand, in such a way that large damage to the internal combustion engine is prevented. On the other hand, it is to be ensured that unnecessary switching off of the internal combustion engine when a low threshold value is detected is avoided. When the internal combustion engine is set, a compromise must therefore be made between these two requirements.